Tag: Capsule Toys

Japan: Capsule Toys

Published on by LostViivi1 Comment

Like I promised I’m here with the article about capsule toys and claw games! I loved capsule toys when I was little. The surprise what you will get was still as exiting as younger.

Claw games I didn’t play that much because I never win. Despite that I went to see them a lot because they remind me of my sister. She loves claws! I hope I would have taken one with me and given to her. The machines are just so giant and probably expensive and I don’t even know where would you get one.

 

 

Capsule Toys

In Japan the culture varies from the western one I know. I have got used to little kids drooling over these toys. Imagine my surprise when in my first week in Tokyo it wasn’t children who used capsule toy machines.

If you have never visited Japan you are now probably thinking who then would use them. It’s very simple. Normal people. Everyone. From business men to cool teenagers. After a while I started to see the kids trying to get toys from these too but I still wonder what people do with the toys. Do they just collect them?

 

 

Special Toys

The capsule toys in pic above look totally normal, right? You are wrong… or at least partly wrong. This picture is taken in museum. Do you want buy souvenir in Japan. Don’t worry you can find capsule toys anywhere you go!

Some of these “toys” can be breathtaking. Pocked-sized replicas of art works, poems by famous artists and do-it-yourself dinosaur skeletons. You just need to find these. I will give a hint go to museums and tourist attractions.

 

 

As Super Junior (boyband from South Korea) fan I couldn’t pass these capsule toys without trying to get my bias (means the favorite member, mine is Eunhyuk). Tower Records music stores are popular in Japan and you should definitely visit at least one. These capsule toys are from one of Tokyo’s stores.

 

 

Claw Games

In Finland we only have claw games in cruises and amusement parks. In Japan I saw buildings full of different types of machines. The prices very from stuffed animals to anime figures and fan products.

 

 

Not everyone recognize these bears but to enlighten you all these are Bigbang’s (South Korean boyband too) mascots. I really tried to get one but didn’t have luck. I’m bad at these.

Well the most important this wasn’t to get reward. It’s just funny to try get something (and fail badly). Some people were really good at these and it was magical to see them getting the toys out of the machines.

 

 

Thank you for reading my blog!
And see you again next week. 🙂

Japan: Vending Machines

Published on by LostViivi2 Comments

Of course before traveling to Japan I had heard about the vending machines but I never really realized how many of them there would be. Every corner of street bottles of different drinks are waiting for thirsty passerby.

 

Lemonade and Tea Vending Machines

Cold lemonades and iced teas are the most common machines in Japan. Usually couple of different ones stand next to each other so no one can complain not finding the right drink. If you are lucky the vending machine has also section for hot drinks. Usually tea, hot chocolate or canned coffee.

Because of my nonexistent Japanese skills I had no idea what I was drinking. However I grow attached to the green drink in pic and it’s pink twin bottle.

The one drink I hate and apparently regular citizen loved was some kind of ice-tea (I think??). It’s the one in bottom left corner of the pic. That green one with black text in it. You should probably give it a try but I couldn’t even nearly finish it

 

Specialty Coffee Machines

I admit that I hate coffee and I never even tried these machines. (Well at least not after the first accidental time…) There are more variety in these machines than in normal cafes. Unfortunately with my bad Japanese skills I can’t tell you much about the drinks you can get from these ones.

 

Ice Cream Vending Machines

Do I even need to mention anything else? Ice cream from vending machine? Japan, you have made me fall for you!

So yeah back to the point… These ones weren’t that usual but I saw one at least once every day in Tokyo. I liked every ice cream I tried even if the prices were more expensive than in convenience stores. For the thrill of using the machine I was ready to pay a little bit more.

 

Capsule Toys

Capsule toys are the thing in Japan. They are everywhere. Little figures you can get change often and if you are lucky (and wealthy) you can collect different type of toys. Prices wary from 100 to 500 yen and the gifts you get out can be nearly anything from panties to cute tiny mascots.

 

Claw Games

I bet everyone knows these games wit craw you use to get prices from the machine. Japan is the promised land of claw lovers. You have game halls 5 floors high full of different this kind of games. You can win anything. Cute stuffed animals, game figurines with big boobs, video games, towels, candies. I think you get the idea, right? Anything is possible here.

 

 

Thank you for reading my first post in this blog! My idea is to post new travel themed text every Sunday (or Monday depending where you live) so I hope you will follow me. Next week you are going to get better article about capsule toys and claw games.

Welcome and see you next week!